Path to the Future.
Path to Light.
Life of Ahola-Valo. Power of Childhood. Development of Humanity.
Science of Self-Exploration. Art. Ways of Living. Wise Love.
Aleksanteri Ahola-Valo (1900–1997) was a citizen of the world. He saw himself as a realistic scientist with something to say to humanity. His subject of research was himself. Already as a child, Ahola-Valo began to pursue a future founded on wise love. He said he was VALO (Light) in a world that had developed in the wrong direction.
VALON MUSEO (The Museum of Light) preserves the life’s work and philosophy of graphic artist, visual artist, writer, thinker, and educational philosopher Aleksanteri Ahola-Valo. Its collection includes an extensive archive. The museum also holds materials on evohomology, developed by Ahola-Valo, whose research and preservation is promoted by the Valola Foundation in collaboration with the Elpo Association.
Everyone who values Ahola-Valo and his worldview is warmly welcomed to bring their own spark of light to the shared bonfire of humanity and to join the association as a member!
”If everyone—children and adults—could drink from the same light that Ahola-Valo gave to the world already as a small child, we would live in a transformed world, in peace, love, and light.”
said by Thomas McElwain
Honorary Doctor of Education Aleksanteri “Ali” Ahola-Valo was one of the most versatile artists and humanists of the past century. He created nearly 10,000 works of art and developed an extensive self-education system, working also as an architect, interior designer, and inventor. Ahola-Valo’s life illuminates the entire 20th century through its significant turning points, seen from the perspective of a profound, forward-thinking educational philosopher—across Russia, the Soviet Union, Belarus, Sweden, and Finland.
Ahola-Valo documented the events of his life and how he spent his time from childhood onward—reportedly more thoroughly than any other notable artist. He designed and carried out major architectural projects as well as educational initiatives. In 1994, he was awarded the Cygnaeus Prize by the Finnish National Board of Education, and he was an honorary member of the Association of Finnish Printmakers, the Skåne Artist Guild, and the Hämeenlinna Artists’ Association. Over the course of his life, he also learned to speak more than a dozen languages. Multiple academic studies—including dissertations and master’s theses—have been written about Ahola-Valo.
”We must create health, and through health, beauty. We must create a life that is, in itself, a work of art.”
Aleksanteri was born on 27 January 1900 to chimney sweeper Pekka Ahola and corset shop owner Ida Kultalahti. Two years later, his brother Felix was born, but soon after, their mother Ida passed away. In the spring of 1907, Pekka Ahola and his family were sent into internal exile in Ingria, to the fully Russian summer community of Viiritsa. The gifted boy Ali was placed under the private tutelage of Dr. Lydmila Kušmina, also known as “LyM,” who became a mother figure to him. Kušmina inspired Ali to keep a diary by giving him a black-covered notebook. The original diary still survives, and along with later childhood diaries by Ahola-Valo, it forms the basis for the book series The Schoolboy’s Diary. These diaries provide a detailed account of Ali’s development and that of the Viiritsa children’s community, particularly as they founded their own progressive Children’s Play School, where the children acted as each other’s teachers.
In addition to private lessons and the children’s self-organized school, Ali also studied at a Semstvo school, where he was deeply influenced by a kind and child-centered teacher known as “Big Mari.” The children’s own school was inspired by Big Mari’s influence. Teaching became Ali’s dream profession.
At Ali’s initiative, the children of Viiritsa village founded a self-directed school in 1908 in the Ahola family’s courtyard, using a former carriage shed. From 1908 to 1916, the development of the school largely depended on Ali: he came up with ideas, refined them, raised funds, and even supervised the construction of a new school building—all at just 13 years old.
The self-directed school received both admiration and opposition. Authorities conducted several inspections and tried to shut it down, suspecting it of revolutionary ideals and rebellious activity. However, the name “Play School” helped protect its operation. The learning outcomes were found to be excellent, the children were highly motivated, their behavior toward adults and each other improved, and their sense of social responsibility grew. Even issues like alcoholism and domestic violence, which had troubled local families, began to decrease.
At Ali’s suggestion and under LyM’s leadership, an orphanage was also established alongside the Play School, offering a safe haven for children from violent home environments. Ali himself, along with his brother Felix, eventually sought refuge there under the care of kind Elena Antonovna, as the atmosphere at home had become too oppressive.
”The school came to life,
knowledge flowed into our minds.
We, children, manage it all ourselves,
overcoming obstacles with honour.
Long live wisdom!
Away with idleness!”